G.  G. 

D  & — 'cfc&tu.JLsf , 


Hu 

n 


HISTORY  OF  GOLD  LEAF 
AND  ITS  USES 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Getty  Research  Institute 


https://archive.org/details/historyofgoldleaOOunse 


History  of  Gold  Leaf 
and  Its  Uses 


TRADE  MARK 


F.  W.  RAUSKOLB 

103  ARCH  STREET,  -  -  BOSTON,  MASS. 


Manufacturer  of 

GOLD  LEAF  of  every  description 

PATENT  SIZED  GOLD  LEAF 


Dealer  in  Silver,  Aluminum,  and  Composition  Leaf 
Bronze  Powders,  Liquid  and  Gold  Size,  White 
and  Color  Leaf,  Gilders’  Materials 


SKEWINGS,  RAGS,  RUBBERS,  AND  WASTE 
GOLD  OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION  BOUGHT 


COPY 

F. 


RIGHT,  1915, 
W.  RAUSKOLB 


B  Y 


THE  GETTY  CENTER 
LIBRARY 


Two  brothers  who  have  worked  continuously  for  us  and  our  predecessors 
lor  over  half  a  century.  This  is  a  record  probably 
unparalleled  in  the  world 


CI)e  dSoltj  Beaters 

Suggestively  a  clever  novel  of 

fiction  title,  the  above  in  this  in¬ 
stance  symbolizes  a  rare  group  of 
men  in  the  “Athens  of  America,”  Boston, 
U.S.A.,  who  wield  heavy  hammers  daily 
pounding  out  the  filmy  sheets  of  Gold 
Leaf  used  so  extensively  in  many  branches 
of  art  and  industry. 

The  art  of  Gold  beating  has  existed 
for  more  than  three  thousand  years,  as 
is  clearly  shown  by  the  quaint  pictorial 
Egyptian  stone  tablets  excavated  in  re¬ 
cent  years  by  the  scientific  explorers. 
Gold  was  the  most  important  substance 
used  in  decoration  by  the  ancient  crafts¬ 


men. 


[5] 


“The  Temple  of  Solomon  was  pro¬ 
fusely  gilt”  says  Homer  in  his  writings. 
The  Romans  covered  the  ceilings  and 
walls  of  their  apartments  with  Gold 
Leaf.  Nero  erected  his  “Golden  House” 
in  Rome  after  the  disastrous  fire  of 
64  b.c.  According  to  Tacitus  “Italy 
and  her  provinces  were  pillaged  and 
plundered  to  gratify  the  Emperor’s  love 
of  magnificence.”  The  jewelry  and 
treasures  of  the  people  were  probably 
dumped  into  the  “melting  pot”  without 
much  ceremony  and  the  Gold  beaten 
into  thin  sheets  to  cover  the  structure. 

Down  through  the  ages  of  man  the 
precious  yellow  metal  has  been  lavishly 
used  for  the  adornment  of  himself  and 
his  domicile.  It  has  been  the  standard, 
relatively  speaking,  of  the  position  in 
life  of  its  possessor.  Even  the  mummy 
cases  of  the  Egyptians  give  distinctive 
[6] 


evidence  of  their  station  in  life.  Some 
of  these  are  covered  with  Gold  Leaf  and 
in  some  instances  the  bodies  are  en¬ 
cased  in  the  precious  metal. 

The  Egyptians  used  Gold  Leaf  for 
ornamentation  more  than  twenty-five 
hundred  years  before  the  advent  of  the 
Christian  Era  and  the  Greeks  are  known 
to  have  made  use  of  Gold  Leaf  fully 
1400  b.c.  The  Chinese  are  also  known 
to  have  covered  their  Idols  with  Gold 
Leaf  many  centuries  ago.  England, 
Germany  and  France  have  had  “Gold 
beaters”  for  several  hundred  years. 


[7] 


ANCIENTS  MINING  GOLD 


HE  production  of  Gold  in  the 


mines  of  Egypt  is  said  to  have 
been  over  thirty-five  million 


dollars  annually  in  the  time  of  Rameses 
II.  which  was  1400  b.c. 

The  toll  in  human  life  getting  the 
Gold  in  those  days  is  said  to  have  been 
enormous.  Men  were  then  the  slaves  of 
the  Princes  and  Rulers.  Driven  to  the 
mines  by  the  soldiery  these  unfor¬ 
tunates  faced  almost  certain  death.  The 
mines  are  said  to  have  been  far  from 
the  governmental  seats  and  to  reach 
them  the  caravans  crossed  the  great 
desert  to  the  Upper  Country. 

Only  the  hardest  kind  of  work  was 


[81 


their  lot,  the  water  was  scarce,  having  to 
be  carried  long  distances  and  the  food 
supply  was  very  meagre.  Under  the 
cruel  lash  of  the  slave  driver  the  men 
worked  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  min¬ 
ing  the  quartz  rock  which  was  brought 
to  the  surface  by  boys.  It  was  then 
pounded  with  iron  pestles,  in  stone 
mortars  and  then  carried  by  the  masters 
to  the  cities. 

The  methods  of  extracting  and  utiliz¬ 
ing  the  Gold  in  those  days  are  revealed 
by  the  Egyptian  Hieroglyphics  on  the 
tomb  of  Beni-Hassan,  of  which  the 
illustration  opposite  is  a  copy. 

Reading  of  the  drawing  is  from  right 
to  left,  starting  in  the  lower  right-hand 
corner.  The  first  man  is  working  the 
quartz  into  a  pulverized  condition.  The 
next  man  with  the  shovel  places  it  on 
the  inclined  chute  for  the  third  man  to 
[9] 


screen.  The  fourth  man  is  working  with 
a  pan  in  which  water  is  poured  by  the 
fifth  person.  The  latter  also  throws 
water  into  a  “riffle”  which  is  a  series  of 
steps.  The  others  on  the  lower  half  are 
washing  and  stirring  the  material  in  the 
pans.  The  upper  part  shows  the  scribe 
with  tablet  and  marker  noting  the 
weight  on  the  scales.  Then  there  is  the 
man  with  the  blow  pipe  at  the  crucible 
and  the  last  two  men  are  making  the 
Gold  into  ornamental  shapes. 


Extract  from  “Boston  Globe” 

Jan.  17,  1915 

The  writer  while  walking  through  Arch  St. 
recently  heard  heavy  pounding.  The  sound 
came  through  a  basement  window  and  looking 
down  men  were  seen  hammering  away  with  all 
their  might  on  little  packets  that  looked  at  first 
glance  like  a  pack  of  cards. 


The  next  thing  that  attracted  my  attention 
was  the  big  gilded  figure  of  an  arm  and  ham¬ 
mer  sticking  out  over  the  entrance. 

Men  in  an  unusual  business  are  usually  courte¬ 
ous  and  willingly  enlighten  a  stranger  with  infor¬ 
mation  regarding  their  business.  In  this  instance 
the  owner,  F.  W.  Rauskolb,  was  no  exception. 

After  giving  considerable  data  regarding  the 
making  of  gold  leaf,  he  permitted  a  tour  of  in¬ 
spection  of  the  shop  under  the  guidance  of  the 
superintendent,  but  not  before  giving  the  “once 
over”  in  earnest.  The  reason  for  the  latter 
action  will  be  apparent  when  one  considers  that 
this  is  a  gold  beating  shop,  where  there  is  gold 
in  one  form  and  another  on  all  sides.  Gold  is 
gold  whether  in  coins,  bullion  or  gold  leaf  and 
it  doesn’t  take  much  of  it  to  make  several  dollars. 

The  first  feature  that  impresses  one  on  enter¬ 
ing  the  shop,  is  the  noise  made  by  the  men 
pounding  with  the  hammers.  They  strike  on 
sheepskin  parchment,  but  the  sound  is  heavy 
enough.  The  hammers  weigh  from  8  to  20 
pounds  each  and  with  a  score  of  them  pounding 
it  is  very  noisy. 


[11] 


First  was  shown  a  nice  little  lump  of  the  gold 
as  it  comes  from  the  U.  S.  Treasury  Depart¬ 
ment.  A  piece  that  resembled  two  yeast  cakes 
laid  end  to  end  weighed  12  ounces  and  was 
worth  $249.20.  The  weight  and  price  were 
stamped  on  it. 

The  initial  work  done  with  the  gold  in  the 
process  is  to  melt  it  and  add  some  silver  alloy 
and  copper.  The  amounts  of  the  two  last  named 
metals  vary  according  to  the  grade  of  leaf  to  be 
made.  Some  of  it  is  necessary,  anyway,  for  the 
pure  gold  could  not  be  made  into  leaf  without 
it,  being  too  soft.  Most  of  the  gold  leaf  is  of 
23  carat,  which  is  almost  pure  gold. 

The  metal  is  then  poured  into  a  mold,  and 
after  cooling  is  in  a  bar  about  five  inches  long 
and  an  inch  wide,  and  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch 
thick.  This  is  rolled  out  into  strips  about  120 
feet  long,  and  as  thin  as  a  sheet  of  book  paper. 

The  boss  then  gives  the  gold  beater  a  strip 
weighing  60  pennyweight,  and  he  starts  making 
the  leaf. 

For  three  days  the  beater  has  this  bit  of  pre¬ 
cious  metal  in  his  care.  It  is  charged  up  to  him, 
[12] 


and  he  is  required  to  make  3000  sheets  of  leaf 
with  it.  It  may  take  longer  than  three  days  to 
make  the  leaf,  for  the  weather  has  a  great  deal 
to  do  with  it,  also  the  least  indisposition  of  the 
beater  shows  marked  effect. 

His  eye  and  hand  must  be  steady,  otherwise 
he  may  strike  a  few  blows  that  will  cause  him 
to  spend  several  hours  to  rectify  the  mistake. 

The  beater  after  getting  the  gold  cuts  it  into 
little  squares  of  about  one  inch,  and  he  lays  200 
of  them  between  sheets  of  “cutch”  paper. 

This  paper  is  made  by  a  secret  process  in 
France.  No  substitute  has  been  found  for  it 
that  is  suitable. 

Finishing  the  cutting  and  arranging  the  little 
squares,  he  puts  the  pack  into  a  parchment  cover 
and  starts  the  beating.  Using  the  20-pound 
hammer,  he  beats  with  one  hand  while  with  the 
other  he  keeps  turning  the  “cutch.”  Each 
blow  is  struck  with  precision. 

About  half  an  hour  is  necessary  for  this  part 
of  the  work,  when  the  gold  begins  to  show  on  the 
edges  of  the  paper,  having  thinned  out  to  four 
times  the  original  size. 

[13] 


These  leaves  are  then  taken  and  cut  into  four 
squares  each  with  a  “skewing”  knife.  The  little 
squares  are  picked  up  with  boxwood  pincers  and 
each  is  placed  between  ox  intestinal  skins. 

These  delicate  skins  are  all  imported  from 
England,  the  process  of  curing  them  being  known 
to  but  few  people.  The  pack  this  time  is  known 
in  the  trade  as  the  “shoder”  and,  placing  the 
parchment  cover  on  again,  the  beating  is  re¬ 
sumed. 

After  about  two  hours’  work  the  800  squares 
are  flattened  out  until  they  appear  on  the  edges 
of  the  skins,  being  then  about  four  inches  by 
four.  These  are  cut  into  3200  squares,  by  the 
use  of  a  unique  little  instrument  called  a 
“wagon.”  It  is  like  a  little  bobsled  with  runners 
made  of  lacquered  cane  from  Japan. 

They  go  through  the  beating  process  in  ox 
skins.  This  pack  is  called  the  “mould”  and  is 
the  final  beating.  The  time  taken  in  this  last 
operation  consumes  on  the  average  12  hours  and 
sometimes  it  takes  much  longer,  depending  on 
the  weather,  the  eye  and  steadiness  of  the  arm. 

The  leaves  are  so  thin  now  that  one  can  see 
[14] 


through  them.  It  would  take  about  300,000  of 
them  to  make  a  pack  one  inch  thick.  Several 
years  ago  a  quantity  was  measured  at  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  Institute  of  Technology  with  the  above 
result. 

Rarely  does  a  hole  appear  and  when  a  small 
one  does  the  girl  who  cuts  and  arranges  them  in 
little  books  of  25  each,  patches  it.  Five  dollars 
worth  of  gold  would  cover  5000  square  inches  of 
surface. 

Although  gold  beating  has  been  known  to 
exist  since  1706  b.  c.,  it  was  first  attempted  in 
America  about  100  years  ago.  The  gold  beaters 
soon  found  their  way  to  Boston,  and  in  the 
cellars  of  some  of  the  old  business  houses  of  the 
Hub  the  sound  of  the  hammer  has  been  heard 
for  almost  a  century. 

The  work  is  always  carried  on  in  a  cellar,  for 
if  it  was  done  on  any  other  floor  the  building 
would  soon  be  a  wreck.  It  would  be  shaken 
down  in  a  short  time. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  gold 
beating  is  recovering  the  loose  gold  that  escapes 
in  the  process.  When  for  any  reason  a  place 
[15] 


is  vacated  the  floors  are  taken  up  and  burned 
and  the  gold  recovered.  Even  the  earth  is 
burned.  The  ordinary  sweepings  of  the  shop 
yield  $30  for  each  barrelful. 

This  business  has  defied  the  mind  and  hand  of 
the  inventor  all  these  years,  for  except  in  a  few 
minor  details  the  same  methods  have  prevailed 
for  the  many  centuries.  Many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  beat  the  gold  with  machinery 
with  only  partial  success. 

Besides  the  paper  “cutch”  from  France,  the  ox 
skins  from  England  and  the  cane  from  Japan, 
another  paper  is  used  that  comes  from  Germany 
and  England.  This  paper,  which  is  originally 
used  as  business  ledgers,  is  used  to  clean  the  ox 
skins  of  “brine”  and  impurities  that  accumulate 
during  the  process. 

An  imported  powder  is  brushed  on  the  skins 
after  each  operation  with  the  foot  of  a  Belgian 
hare.  This  prevents  the  leaf  from  sticking  and 
breaking. 

The  sign  of  the  arm  and  hammer  over  the 
door  is  an  odd  thing.  It  is  over  50  years  old 
and  was  made  by  one  of  the  old-time  wood 
[16] 


carvers  who  made  the  figure  heads  for  the  sailing 
vessels  built  in  Quincy. 

Supplementing  this  concise  and  inter¬ 
esting  report  of  the  Globe  reporter  the 
following  facts  are  worthy  of  note. 

There  are  eighteen  colors  of  Gold  Leaf 
made  by  us.  The  two  most  commonly 
used  are  “Deep”  which  is  twenty-three 
carat  and  “Lemon”  which  is  eighteen 
carat.  Sometimes  in  order  to  lower  the 
cost,  the  same  color  is  held  with  a  lower 
carat,  but  this  is  poor  practice  as  the 
Leaf  beaten  from  such  metals  is  sure 
to  tarnish. 

The  process  of  manufacture  of  Gold 
Leaf  is  carried  on  in  much  the  same  way 
as  in  the  ancient  days.  The  heavy  ham¬ 
mer  swung  by  the  brawny  arm  still 
prevails,  but  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  initial  rolling  of  the  ingot 
[17] 


and  the  receptacles  for  holding  the  leaves 
during  the  process  of  beating. 

In  the  Egyptian  period  it  is  presumed 
that  the  Gold  was  beaten  with  copper  or 
hard  wooden  hammers,  until  the  metal 
was  in  thin  sheets.  The  use  of  a  skin 
from  the  entrails  of  cattle  had  its  incep¬ 
tion  at  a  much  later  period  in  Eastern 
Europe.  In  the  early  part  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century  the  Parisian  Gold  Leaf 
makers  are  said  to  have  beaten  an  ounce 
of  gold  into  1600  leaves  which  would 
cover  about  105  square  feet,  the  equiva¬ 
lent  of  an  extra  large  parlor  rug.  In 
1711  the  pellicle  discovered  by  the  Ger¬ 
mans  was  used  in  France  and  a  much 
greater  area  was  attained. 


[18] 


IMPROVEMENTS 


THE  first  improvement  of  note 
in  providing  a  more  economical 
and  easily  handled  Gold  Leaf 
was  “Transfer  Gold”  made  by  sticking 
the  Leaf  to  paper  under  pressure.  It  was 
patented  about  thirty  years  ago  and  is 
still  used  to  advantage  by  sign  painters 
and  dome  gilders  working  in  the  open 
where  if  the  ordinary  loose  leaf  was 
used  it  would  blow  away. 

The  second  invention  was  “Roll  Gold,” 
the  Leaf  being  laid  on  paper  and  rolled 
up,  it  was  then  cut  to  any  desired  width. 
These  rolls  have  come  into  great  demand 
and  are  used  in  practically  all  lines  of 

work  where  Gold  Leaf  is  used. 

[19] 


The  third  and  most  important  im¬ 
provement  in  Gold  Leaf  manufacture  is 
“Patent  Sized  Gold  Leaf.”  It  was  in¬ 
vented  especially  for  the  shoe  trade 
which  today  is  one  of  the  greatest 
industries  of  this  U.S.A. 

Before  its  discovery  by  us  the  leather 
or  material  was  sized  and  thoroughly 
dried.  The  Gold  Leaf  was  laid  in  posi¬ 
tion  and  held  by  a  coating  of  olive  oil. 
The  impression  was  then  made  with  a 
hot  die  and  the  surplus  Gold  collected 
by  the  use  of  a  rubber  sponge  called 
“car-mu-cha.” 

With  our  “Patent  Sized  Gold  Leaf” 
it  is  only  necessary  to  place  the  leaf  on 
the  material,  use  a  hot  die  and  the 
imprint  is  complete.  The  waste  stays 
on  the  paper  thus  saving  every  particle 
of  Gold. 

Another  commendable  feature  of  the 
[20] 


“Patent  Sized  Gold  Leaf”  is  the  absence 
of  stains  by  its  use.  This  alone  makes 
it  a  most  desirable  product.  In  the  few 
years  it  has  been  on  the  market  several 
companies  connected  with  the  shoe  trade 
have  perfected  machines  for  automatic¬ 
ally  feeding  the  material  in  ribbon  form 
as  the  shoes  are  placed  on  the  press. 

The  ease  in  which  the  “Patent  Sized 
Gold  Leaf”  can  be  handled  on  any  ma¬ 
chine  is  a  great  advantage  over  any 
other  embossing  material  now  on  the 
market.  A  permanent  trade-mark  or 
other  advertisement  is  secured  which 
cannot  be  produced  with  any  other 
material  except  real  Gold  Leaf.  It  will 
not  change  or  tarnish.  It  is  put  up  in 
sheets,  strips  and  rolls. 


[21] 


\ 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


3  3125  00140  9057 


